AUTHOR'S NOTE
Proudly introducing the villain, a menacing, threatening, life-consuming...weird blob of ink? XP
Please enjoy.
CHAPTER TWO
Silver sat in his bed, covers wrapped tightly around his body, reading the last few pages of a fiction novel, Soleanna.
"But…but we would've never met each other! We would've never became friends!" cried Elise, "I don't care if Solaris would never have existed - no, I can't accept this!" She almost sunk to the ground, overcome with despair.
"No, Elise, just smile. Everything will be alright," said the blue hedgehog, smiling, though not without a genuine sadness in his green orbs.
Their gazes met each other's for the last time, and, after a momentous pause, the Princess of Soleanna blew out the Flames.
Wait - she actually blew out the Flames?! Wow…Silver thought, I'll read the epilogue tomorrow -
And then he realised there was a strange blob of fresh ink on the blank area below where the paragraph and chapter had ended. Frowning, he poked it, once, twice, three times. It did not smudge or disappear. The more he looked at it, the more it annoyed him. He irritably rubbed the black dot over and over again, until his index finger burned; he switched to his median finger and continued, then the ring finger, and even his pinkie. But the ink remained where it was.
Defeated by frustration and confusion, he tossed the book to the floor. Immediately, he regretfully picked it up and replaced it on his bedside table. Silver turned off his bedside lamp and sunk back into his soft pillow. He was surprised at how exhausted he was. Eventually, he was no longer staring into the darkness of the room; sleep itself had manifested into his consciousness.
He did not notice that the words on the pages of Soleanna were slowly fading, all being siphoned into the ink. It grew in size, form and shape, and, once the entire book was fresh and blank, slithered into the chest of the sleeping hedgehog.
"Silver the Hedgehog…" a voice hissed from somewhere.
"Who is it?!"
And a hedgehog-like figure emerged, marching right up to him. His red sclera and snake-like pupils probed into the mind of the confused white hedgehog.
"Mephiles the Dark…?"
"You are in a state of deep trouble."
"What do you want from me?!" demanded Silver.
"Nothing, but the truth - your truth." His mouthless muzzle twitched upwards, as if smiling. "Aren't you tired of being ignored, neglected?"
Silver remained quiet; he didn't feel comfortable speaking to the menacing presence. To his stillness, the confronter laughed.
"Ha ha ha…yes, you know you are."
"…No! I'm not! I'm absolutely fine!" declared the ivory hedgehog, his voice with a tinge of strain.
"Don't deny your true feelings; admit to them."
"Leave me alone!"
"Oh, you wouldn't want me to do that. I would be of great help to your misfortunes."
Again, Silver was silent.
"It's all there inside you." Mephiles reached out his claws and poked softly at Silver's chest, where his heart beat dutifully beneath the skin. "You know you hate the way your brothers always snatch the spotlight away from you, the spotlight you truly deserve."
He wanted to say no, to continue faking his kindness and loyalty to his brothers, even if just a dream. But the manipulative voice of the entity sang into his innermost thoughts, and he stammered inaudibly, "Y-yeah…I do."
"If you don't take action and step into the spotlight, the nightlight will be yours and yours forever…"
Silver woke up with a mixture of shame and vexation stirring inside him. His hands were slightly clammy with the essence of deep sleep.
He lay motionless under the covers, replaying the dream over and over again…
"Hey, Silver," called Sonic, "What kept you so long?"
"I…overslept."
Sonic shrugged. Shadow eyed him with suspicion, "That's a first."
Yeah, he thought to himself, I never oversleep. Blaze was right - I am a terrible liar.
Silver looked down in embarrassment and said nothing more. He shook off the last remnants of an unpleasant dream, and approached his brothers who stood in the centre of the park. A little bit of exercise won't hurt, he hoped.
"Silver, it's your turn to be Eggman today. You're pretending to invade the city, and we're gonna pretend to stop you, as per usual," said Sonic.
"Sure!"
He looked around. The park was quite spaciously empty, and there were scarcely any detached objects in range. That rendered his psychokinesis pretty much null.
"Uh…wait a second -" he stuttered helplessly.
"Ready or not, here I come!" yelled the blue hedgehog, as he swiftly launched himself towards his uncertain brother. A well-executed Axe Kick hit him square in the chest. Silver yelped in pain.
"Come on, Silver! That was way too easy!"
"I wasn't ready!" he complained.
"It doesn't matter whether you were ready or not - in a fight, you've always got to be ready!"
"Grrr…alright, then! Psychic Knife!" A large wave of psychic energy homed in on Sonic; he jumped over it with ease.
"About time I come too; Chaos Spear!" screamed Shadow, firing missile-like projectiles at Silver.
He dodged and rolled to the side, then curled himself up for a Spin Dash. Using his psychic powers, he sprung into the air, high above his brothers, and cried, "Take this! Psycho Smash!" A powerful torrent of energy struck Sonic and Shadow, causing them to fly back.
He continued throwing Psychic Knives; they were like boomerangs that closed in towards Sonic and Shadow as they continuously dodged the attacks from all directions while retaliating. Only then did Silver notice a crowd was gathering.
A few exclamations from the surroundings distracted him.
And he received a Chaos Lance in the face.
The ivory hedgehog rubbed his forehead, where the attack had hit him. He ignored the cheering of the growing congregation. When he opened his eyes again, Shadow was rapidly approaching him with a Spin Dash. He concentrated his psychokinetic powers on the terrain below, and stirred the grass at the point where Shadow had passed. The black hedgehog lost his momentum as he slipped forwards.
For a brief moment, Silver was relieved, but Shadow was flying straight towards him, arms outstretched. He collided into him, a bullet of black into the snowy chest, and the two rolled backwards. Shadow hopped up and engaged in direct combat, fists striking the raised arms of the white hedgehog, who was barely managing to block off the rapid incoming attacks. Out of rising helplessness and a weird sense of frustration, Silver used his psychokinesis and pushed Shadow away. He regained control and quickly boosted himself into the air, scarcely avoiding a tackle.
And instead found himself amidst a whirlwind, stripping him apart from his psychokinetic control. Sonic was circling the ground from below. Silver tried to escape, but was sucked into the twisting vortex of wind. He lost control, being tossed around like a puppet, his vision nothing but a convoluted blur.
He dropped to the ground, face first, his head still spinning tremendously. A sour sensation flooded his nose as it hit the ground, prompting tears to his eyes. He could just barely make out the sounds of the crowd, whispering about him.
Sonic jogged towards his fallen brother, "Silver, that's far from good!"
"I-I'm s-sorry. Ugh." He couldn't help the quiver in his voice.
"With a standard of performance like this, you're absolutely no match even for someone as pathetic as Eggman!" added Shadow, only exacerbating the situation, "Let's try again."
Sonic held out his hand, "Get up, Silver."
"Th-thanks -" The white hedgehog reached for the hand.
And Sonic, in a flash, withdrew his arm, and executed a Windmill attack. Silver received a painful kick to the side of his head and fell down again.
"Silver! You always need to be on guard!"
"Now's not a good moment to waste our time, Faker," seethed Shadow.
"Okay, sorry. Do get up, Silver." This time, he bent down and hoisted his brother up, who intensely rubbed the side of his head.
Silver looked around. The countless pairs of eyes surrounding the park all stared at them. The crowd had grown significantly, and this made Silver very uneasy. He rubbed his nose, blinking quickly.
"Silver, this time, you go first," said Sonic.
"Uh…" He looked around apprehensively.
"What's wrong?" Shadow asked menacingly.
"N-nothing. Everything's fine!" he took a deep breath, and boomed, "Psychic Knife!" He waved his arms and slashed out multiple oscillations of pure energy.
Shadow retaliated with Chaos Spear attacks, while Sonic leapt over the incoming projectiles and advanced forward.
"Psychic Control!" Waves of green energy made for Sonic and Shadow. Shadow rolled to the side in time, but Sonic was struck. In an instant, confusion flooded his instincts and he fell to his knees.
"Ha. Gotcha!" whispered Silver, feeling a bit more confident. He directed more of his psychokinesis at the perplexed blue hedgehog, and Sonic began to approach Shadow. He curled into a ball and began battering the ebony hedgehog with Homing Attacks, who frantically launched bolts of Chaos energy in an attempt to strike back.
Sonic punched Shadow; Shadow retaliated with a firm kick, almost winding him. He staggered backwards for a few steps, trying to control himself, but a blast of Chaos Energy knocked him down. He shook free of the invisible grip of psychokinesis.
"Humph," grunted Shadow, "That'll do."
"Ugh…what happened?"
"Silver got you with his ESP," he stated nonchalantly, and began to attack the floating hedgehog, who was watching the scene in silent satisfaction.
"Oh. Hey, not bad, Silver!"
"Thanks!" Silver shouted back whilst zipping through the air and avoiding showers of Chaos energy.
Suddenly, he had an idea.
Silver smirked. This was going to be fun.
"Silver! Where are you going?!" called Sonic.
He flew out of the park, above the streets, causing numerous heads to turn with his movement, but for the time being, he didn't care. He made one turn, and landed in front of a fountain. He closed his eyes, imagining the water obeying his mental commands. In no time, the water lurched out of its stone container, forming a magnificent tube in the air, making its way towards the park.
"Did he really just run away?" laughed Sonic.
"Humph. What a coward -"
Before Shadow could finish, the aerial torrent of water dived downwards, right onto the two adjacent hedgehogs. The crowd gasped and began muttering amongst themselves. Sonic and Shadow struggled for breath as the relentless stream of water choked their mouths. When the water had ceased, they were utterly soaked and sprawled across the marshy grass in the far end of the park.
The white hedgehog emerged from the corner, flying back into the park, a cheeky grin on his face. In his most Eggman-like voice, he boomed, "I thought you guys would have liked to cool down from the exhilarating heat of the battle!" He chuckled softly at his humorous remark, and grasped his coughing brothers with psychokinesis.
Sonic and Shadow floated helplessly in the air; they were overwhelmed with confusion and rage, immobilised under Silver's psychic powers. He flung them around amidst the unfathomable air in a way such that they looked as if they were dancing in a duet, leaving a brief trail of bright-green wherever they moved; he plunged them down to the ground, brought them close up to see their contorted expressions of rage and hatred, and tossed them far away.
"Silver! What are you doing?!" shrill voices sounded from the crowd; it was Tails and Knuckles, praying for Silver to stop.
But he was lost, obsessed with his period of control over his brothers, thinking of retribution for their neglect and ignorance.
"Oh no, Sonic, and Shadow! Silver! Please!" Amy Rose squealed in fear.
He felt desirous and unstoppable, his arms gesturing up, down, left, right, moving his brothers wherever he pleased.
Until he heard a specific voice. "Silver! Stop!" Blaze the Cat was calling, "Let go of Sonic and Shadow!"
Abruptly, the ivory hedgehog snapped out of his trance-like state. Carefully, he moved balls of blue and black onto the ground. A chilling sensation froze his heart as he caught the expressions of his brothers, who climbed back up, standing no more than a few metres away. The blood in his veins was frozen into solid ice by the suspicious murmurs arising from the audience.
Shadow's eyes glowed a murderous red, while Sonic stood, rigid as a stone, teeth clenched in fury.
"Silver the Hedgehog," purred Shadow, "You will be very, very sorry for what you've just committed."
Regret and fear possessed his trembling body. The words seemed to pierce through his skin like daggers. That's right, he thought, Sonic and Shadow hated getting wet…especially Sonic. And both hated being humiliated in front of a crowd…I'm as good as dead. But it was no use thinking about it anymore. Silver snatched a glance at the azure hedgehog. His green irises were fuelled with distress.
"Grrr…Silver!" he snarled, "What was that for?!"
"I'm s-sorry…"
"Yes, you will be. Let's teach this insolent child a lesson," growled Shadow.
And together they began to run around Silver, in a circle. Sparks ignited in the air around the shocked hedgehog; Silver just stood on the spot, so petrified with guilt and shame that he didn't call for his psychic powers and defend himself from the Atomic Strike.
Silver sat on his bed. He looked down onto his hands, tightly held together on his lap. He felt depleted of his strength, having been hit directly by Sonic and Shadow's powerful collaborative attack.
I should have known better not to cheat my brothers, nor challenge and ruin their honour. I should have accepted my fate of being their lowly follower and sibling, accept the fact that I am not nearly as powerful as they are. I should be complacent with my status and who I am.
An abrupt creak of the door pulled him out of his thoughts. Sonic and Shadow had entered the room. Without a word, they plopped themselves down onto his bed. He sat awfully erect, and looked forebodingly to the left - at Sonic - and to the right - at Shadow.
"Silver," began the blue hedgehog, "Why didn't you defend yourself from our Atomic Strike?"
"I-I'm sorry…" he mumbled.
"No, we're not asking for an apology, Silver. We want to know why you just stood there helplessly, when you could've easily escaped the attack with some of your psychokinetic expertise!"
"I…I was scared."
"Scared? Scared of what?" chortled Sonic.
"You guys were utterly furious…" Silver bleated, frightened.
"Oh, perhaps we were…but you shouldn't ever be intimidated in the face of danger, Silver." Sonic replied casually.
Easier said than done, thought Silver, especially if your very own brothers - whom you look up to and care so much about - are gleaming mad at you. "I cheated you guys. I'm terribly sorry."
"Meh. Doesn't matter," shrugged Sonic.
"So…you're not mad at me? Both of you?" His eyes seemed to brighten up.
"Of course not!" Sonic responded cheerfully, "Just don't ever drench me with water again, please."
Silver slouched in relief. He took a glance at Shadow, who hasn't spoken since his entry into the room. His silence was unnerving.
"It's over anyways, and we have something else to ask you, too," remarked Shadow.
Silver's eyes widened slightly, "Huh?"
"How did you manage to oversleep, for the first time in your life this morning, Silver?" questioned Sonic, a faint grin of satisfaction as he seemingly backed his brother into a dead end.
"I…just did. Sometimes, it happens, you know…" he trailed off in artificial timidness.
Sonic furrowed his brows, and peered over Silver's shoulder to Shadow, who was suspiciously scrutinising the nervous countenance of the white hedgehog. Finally, he spoke up, "Sometimes, it happens. Very interesting. Silver the Hedgehog, you did not oversleep this morning."
"Wh-what…are you talking about? I did! I really did! I swear, by the Chaos Emeralds!"
"Well," chuckled Shadow, "I bet the Chaos Emeralds aren't pleased with your oath. Tell us, Silver, what happened this morning?"
"N-no…! Nothing!" Silver giggled childishly, avoiding his brothers' gazes, while simultaneously feeling himself being forced, squeezed against a concrete wall. "Genuinely, I really overslept! I'm really sorry! It was an accident! It'll never happen again! I swear!"
"I hasn't ever happened," Shadow stated frankly, "And we're honestly not asking for an apology, Silver. We're only asking you to answer our question."
The ivory hedgehog realised that all paths to evasion have been blocked, all strings of escape cut.
I really, really am a terrible liar.
But his brothers were expecting a response. He gulped fearfully.
There's no way out of this now…
"I…was daydreaming, think about stuff," said Silver, averting his eyes.
"Daydreaming? About what?" the black hedgehog continued to advance his probing.
"Nothing in particular."
"Tell us, Silver."
Silver felt his brain tremble, holding an ever-growing pile of lies and deceitful comments.
"I…have a headache…" groaned Silver. He turned away from his brothers and fell loosely onto his bed. It was partly true - his head had started to protest after a long time of being questioned.
But he also wanted to get away.
Unfortunately, Shadow saw through his little machinations, his red eyes scanning every syllable of the hoary hedgehog's words.
"No, you don't, Silver," he said bluntly, "Get up. Don't even try and avoid the question."
The latter part of his remark was especially impactful. Silver felt powerlessness overwhelm him as the last drops of hope leaked away from his body. There was a certain deadly cruelty about Shadow's tone. His golden orbs moved left and right in small motions as tears pricked at his eyes.
"I'm getting impatient, Silver," continued Shadow, growling, "Answer my question or I may have to do something."
Further words broke the barrier containing the warm liquid in his eyes. He whimpered, salty tears slowly trickled down Silver's cheeks.
Seeing his brother in dismay, Sonic glared at Shadow, baring his teeth, and said, "Silver, are you okay?" He laid back and snugged an arm under his brother and shuffled closer, comforting him.
Shadow's menacing demeanour ceased. He looked melancholically at Silver, thinking, Maybe I've gone too far. Maybe I should ease off with the questions a bit.
"Silver," he said, "Why are you avoiding our questions?" He still sat, unlike the others, in a formal manner.
The white hedgehog continued to cry, absorbed in his misery.
"It's not a difficult question. We're not expecting anything. Is it because it's very personal to you?" Shadow probed.
"Y-yes…" stammered Silver, but, at Shadow's understanding, his inner thoughts started pouring out, "I had an awful n-nightmare y-yesterday."
"Do you want to tell us about it?" asked Shadow carefully.
"I'm scared you'll be angry at me."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous!" laughed Sonic, "C'mon, pal, tell us!" He gave his arm a good, warm squeeze.
Suddenly, Silver wished he had never had those negative thoughts about his brothers. Blaze was right. They were my brothers, and will be forevermore. They love me, and I love them too.
And Silver began describing his dream.
He didn't finish Soleanna as he thought he would yesterday. He tucked himself into his soft covers and slept. Sonic and Shadow hadn't said much after he finished telling them about the dream in full, about Mephiles the Dark, about his feelings - he did not omit any shady, personal details. They merely nodded in some form of approval, and bade him goodnight.
"We'll talk again, soon." Sonic had said.
He wondered what they thought as their footsteps slowly grew quieter, away from his room, and soon fell asleep.
"I see you have told your brothers about the dream last night, about our conversation," said Mephiles with intrigue, tapping his fingers together.
Silver felt shameful. He felt he betrayed Mephiles - as evil as he may be. "I'm sorry. I was in a terrible mood."
"Don't be," he responded dismissively, "It's no big matter. And there was no agreement of privacy. You are free to tell whoever whatever you want."
Silver nodded, feeling slightly better.
"Do you want to know what your brothers thought after you told them?" he suddenly asked, words once again fuelled with temptation.
An upwards sensation surged through his body. He jerked up, and instinctively pleaded in a hopeful tone, "Yes, please!"
"But, as you are expecting good receptions, you may see disappointment." As usual, the slitted eyes slithered its way into the unprotected mind of the white hedgehog.
Silver didn't know what to say. Apprehension took possession of his beating heart, coercing it to beat faster.
"You're still clinging onto futile hopes that, because they didn't say much before leaving, you think they are fine with it - indifferent, at the worst."
Silver felt his windpipe gradually shrink. His breathing quickened in dread.
"Yes, you are frightened, terrified. Good…ha ha ha."
"What?! Tell me, please!" Silver strained, getting desperate.
"You should be scared. Your brothers live under the spotlight, which is why they are amazing actors. Their faces illustrate indifference, but their hearts speak otherwise," said Mephiles, his voice floating between seriousness and sing-song, "They loathe the notion of you trying to gain their share of the spotlight. They now face insecurity because of an external threat - you - trying to steal their glory and honour. Remember how humiliated they were, when you wielded full control of the situation with your flawless control of psychokinesis? They ganged up on you. They bullied you. It is injustice."
Silver closed his eyes in despair. He couldn't believe it. Hadn't Sonic and Shadow promised to not be angry at him, no matter what he told them?
"Do not drown yourself in disbelief."
"But…what can I do?"
Mephiles began to fade away.
"Hello? Don't leave!" As much as Silver disliked his dark presence, he wanted his advice and consolation.
"The time will come, Silver the Hedgehog…and you will feel the true meaning and power of justice."
"What justice?! I don't understand! Wait!"
"When the time has come, you won't ever feel cheated again, nor will you ever have to cheat. Everyone will bow down to your authority."
"My authority? That's ridiculous - impossible - I will never have any authority! Please come back and explain! Mephiles!"
"We shall meet again - soon."
The shadowy entity vanished into the darkness.
AUTHOR'S NOTE
There we go. Proudly introducing Mephiles! Big-time villain, stalker of innocent kids (like Silver), and loves to lurk in books. Think twice before you pick up a book next time you visit a bookstore/library. :P
Shadow: Silver, put down that book and go outside.
Sonic: Yeah; reading is for nerds!
Silver: Just one more page, please...?
Sonic & Shadow: NO. PUT IT DOWN NOW.
Silver: *whimpers* Okay - OH MY GOSH I CAN'T WASH OFF THIS BLOB OF INK ON MY HAND. "OUT, DAMNED SPOT! OUT, I SAY!" (Macbeth reference, lol.)
Shadow: You need to go OUT, I SAY.
Sonic: Nerd...
Hope you enjoyed. :D
